Have your picnic and be green too: There are Kalamazoo-area options for biodegradeable plates, cups and utensils

View full sizeJohn A. Lacko | Special to the Kalamazoo GazetteLeft: Planet First a "green" store featuring earth friendly and sustainable products. Center: Green tableware: Picnic plates, silverware and cups made from sustainable materials like sugar cane and corn are available at Planet First. Right: Terri and Keith Jordan manage Planet First.

Eat Local Think Global

Sometimes it’s easy to be green, like recycling with a municipal system, where they do all the work for you. But other times, it’s hard to break habits that make your life easier, like using disposable tableware when you have a picnic or host an outdoor event where it would be too much to deal with re-useable options.

Choosing between disposable or multi-use can be frustrating. On one hand, you really want to be kind to the environment so you face lugging around heavy (and on the way home-dirty) dishes, glasses and costly cutlery that will inevitably get lost.

Historically, it’s been done for centuries as picnickers brought all of their gear in boxes and baskets. However in this day and age, it’s just not practical. All too often because of convenience, we opt for disposable one-time use utensils that end up in the trash and eventually the landfill.

There has to be a better option.

According to Terri and Keith Jordan, co-owners of Planet First, 6118 S. Westnedge, in Portage there is.

“We carry table top composters, with bio-degradable bags, storage baggies that are non-pvc, (although she notes that any plastic isn’t good for the environment, this option is the lesser of two evils) trash bags that are biodegradeable in 18 to 24 months and cleaners that are chemical free,” Terri said.

They also carry an impressive and very affordable picnic kit for ten people which includes; nine-inch plates made of sugar cane fibers (bagasse), utensils and cups made from corn and napkins that are 100-percent recycled and biodegrade in 45 to 60 days.

For $12.99, it’s quite a deal when compared to purchasing the products separately. The only drawback according to Terri is that “it would have been nice if they’d package them in burlap or a re-useable bag.”

All things considered, buying these products at one stop makes finding earth-friendly tableware a walk in the park.

Kalamazoo gets greener

Not only can you find earth friendly disposables at specialty spots, you can also find them at local grocery stores like Meijer, D&W and Hardings.

Prices vary from $2.99 to $4 for a package of ten plates, cups or bowls.

These prices, although a bit higher than standard disposables, are not out of the ballpark.

If you’d like to find a wholesale supplier, Kalamazoo’s Fabri-Kal, produces “Greenware” compostable drinking, portion cups and lids made from a biopolymer derived from plants. You can purchase them directly from the company and they can even be personalized.

Smaller orders of 1,000 can also be purchased from local Gordon Food Service outlets.

Hopefully there will soon be an option for buying them at retail stores as well.

Now that you know you have options, it will be easy staying green under blue skies. Eat Local, Think Global.

Channon Mondoux is a personal chef, food writer and culinary teacher who can be reached at channon@rencuisine.com.